Home Sweet Home: former Red Sox Alex Verdugo returned back with full commitment congratulations

Home Sweet Home: former Red Sox Alex Verdugo returned back with full commitment congratulations

As Alex Verdugo enters final year of control, future with Red Sox uncertain

SCOTTSDALE — Outfielder Alex Verdugo is about to enter his final year of team control and could be eligible for free agency after the 2024 season.

Verdugo will have his 2024 salary determined via salary arbitration — unless he and the club come to an agreement beforehand. To date, the Red Sox have yet to demonstrate any interest in extending him past next year. MLBTradeRumors.com, in its annual forecast of salaries for arbitration-eligible players, pegs Verdugo at $9.2 million for 2024, an increase over last year’s $6.3 million.

That makes him, again, a potential trade candidate. Last year at the trade deadline, the Red Sox made it known that they would listen to offers, though ultimately, they didn’t find a deal to their liking. It’s known that both the Houston Astros and New York Yankees made offers for him, with the Yankees willing to deal pitcher Clarke Schmidt. One source familiar with the Yankees’ thinking indicated the team could make another run at Verdugo this winter.

In meeting with reporters Wednesday, Breslow was asked where the organization stood regarding Verdugo.

“His fit is as an everyday right fielder, who’s playing Gold Glove-caliber defense and can impact the ball on the offensive side as well,” said Breslow. “We’ve had some conversations with him. It feels like he’s committed to performing as best as he possibly can. Obviously, he’s a guy that other teams have kind of reached out on, given the situation. But I don’t think we’re in a position to commit to anything.

“We have to look at every opportunity and every interaction with another club or with agent as a chance to make the team better and where that lands, we’ll see.”

Verdugo has his best year defensively, and was named a Gold Glove finalist before losing out to Adolis Garcia of the Texas Rangers earlier this week.

But his offensive numbers remain mediocre, as evidenced by his OPS+ of 100 this past season, indicating the Verdugo performed exactly at the level of the average player. After a strong start at the plate — Verdugo sported a .900 OPS in the second week of May — he regressed over the course of the season and finished with a slash line of .265/.324/.421 with 13 homers and 54 RBI.

In three full-length seasons with the Red Sox, he’s yet to top 13 homers or posted a slugging percentage greater than .426.

Additionally, he’s often run afoul of manager Alex Cora when it comes to effort and timeliness.

Cora removed Verdugo from a June game in Cleveland for failing to run hard between first and second, then benched him the following night. Later in the season, Verdugo arrived at Fenway well past the required report time and was held out of a Saturday afternoon game.

The manager also felt the need to publicly challenge Verdugo on the final day of the 2022 season, saying he needed to arrive in camp in better shape and do a better job making good on his potential.

That challenge seemed to have its intended effect when Verdugo arrived in Fort Myers in improved physical shape, and soon showed that he was moving better in the outfield. But the in-game lapses and the late arrivals combined to leave the impression that Verdugo isn’t always a reliable teammate.

As such, it’s hard to envision the Red Sox engaging in contract extension talks. If Verdugo’s focus and commitment aren’t always obvious when he’s on a year-to-year contract, the team might understandably be reluctant to commit to him for multiple seasons.

Of course, Verdugo’s reputation is widely known throughout the game, and other teams could be similarly wary. That, combined with the single year of control remaining could combine to limit his value on the trade market.

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